Rocks and Walks
Instructor: Cheryl Fontaine
Wednesdays • 1 class & 5 field trips • 9/10-10/13 • 10:00 AM-5:00 PM
Class size 5-13 students
0 seats remaining
Location: Field Trip
Please note that the first “Rocks and Walks” class will be held in room 103 at the Klahr Center on Friday, September 10. This 2-part class will cover Basic Geology (10-11:30 AM) and Maine Geology (1-2:30 PM). The remainder of the course will be held on Wednesdays (9/15-10/13) and include 5 field trips to central Maine coastal sites of geologic interest. We will leave at 10:00 AM and return around 5:00 PM. Field trip rain dates are held the following Fridays.
THIS CLASS IS FULL
“Rocks and Walks” will be an outdoor journey through some of Maine’s geologic history and a great excuse to get out, have some fun, meet new people, and learn something new. We will explore Maine’s bedrock geologic history and develop a sense of the immense amount of time it took for Maine’s landscape to form. We will look for clues in the bedrock outcrops that reveal the complex history that the rocks have to tell.
Although looking at the rocks will be the focus of these outdoor trips, there will be additional opportunities to walk beaches, visit museums and lighthouses, dine at local restaurants or have a picnic lunch. Site visits will be day long and travel arrangements will be discussed on the first day. Visits will be scheduled for Wednesdays with the following Friday as a “rain date”. We will be exploring bedrock outcrops that are easily accessible but walking will be on uneven terrain. Hiking poles are highly recommended. Some sites will require an entrance fee which will be the responsibility of the student as will the cost of dining.classroom
COURSE SCHEDULE:

Cheryl Fontaine retired from the Maine Department of Environmental Protection as a Senior Geologist in 2016. While there, she advised technical staff on remediating underground oil and gasoline contamination and locating replacement drinking water wells. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Cheryl took on a task that she always wanted to do: learn more about the origin of Maine’s bedrock. She spent a year researching the latest information on the geologic evolution of the State of Maine and visiting innumerable bedrock outcrops.
Cheryl lives in Sidney with her husband, Louis. Her other interests include music, quilting, languages and, of course, rock collecting.